Voices

Everyone hears voices in their heads. It's hard to differentiate the voices too. Sometimes I think I hear God speaking to me, but then it's just things that I want to hear. There's honestly no easy way to figure out which voice to listen to.

I've heard some many times, "Just follow your heart!" Well, sometimes your heart isn't where God wants it to be. Sometimes, too, you can hear Satan pretending to "show" you something. He's crafty, and he's like a snake. He gets you right when you are down, making something that look appealing when, in reality, it is disastrous! I've been hearing alot of voices lately. Some have been myself and my thoughts turning into "maybes." Some have perhaps been God and some have been the devil. It's so incredibly hard to focus and try to figure out what voice to listen to! All I have to say this evening is to listen to the Voice of Truth. Don't let anyone put you down for who you are and what you stand for. Don't let people do that to you. A, that's just not right..you deserve better. And B, God created everyone equally. The only one higher than us is Him!

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Hold onto that. If you're going through a hard time, all I can say is "Stop, Drop, and Pray." He's always there for you. He's a great listener. God also may say "wait" to you. And when/if He does, obey that. God may say "wait," but He never says "worry." You have nothing to be worried about, because NOTHING is impossible with God. If you're having trouble, listen to the Voice of Truth. It will always set you free from the ties that bind you.

This has cheered me up just thinking about it. I hope it does the same for you.

• "But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
  the Voice of truth says 'do not be afraid!'
  and the Voice of truth says 'this is for My glory'
  Out of all the voices calling out to me
  I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth" ~ Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns

• "You will be safe in His arms..." ~ Safe by Phil Wickham
  

A Tribute to Ally

So everyone has that one friend in his/her life that is their "life-changer" or someone who changes his/her thinking all around. My one friend is Ally. (Sorry Al, I had to give you a tribute!)

I met her at church camp in 2009, and since then she's been a sister, role model, mentor and friend to me. In our MANY conversations, we've discussed God, boys, school, and every other thing that teen girls talk about. When we talk about our relationships though, it's different. I used to tell her that I wish I had a boyfriend to make me "happy." She would always come back with the reasoning that God is the only one who can fill the hole in my empty heart. Just this week though, as she and I were talking, she said that if I never get married, have a boyfriend, or have anyone interested in me, I need to be okay with that. I needed to realize that God is the only thing that I will EVER need. And once I start realizing that (which I am in the process of), God will bless me beyond what I can imagine. Now, don't get me wrong; I've been blessed beyond words! If I would write out all of the blessings that come to my head, it would fill up an entire sheet of notebook paper front and back and probably more.

But all I need to remember is that God has my best interest in mind, and He will never do anything to harm me. In fact, He know the desires of my heart and He will give them to me just as long as I love and adore Him. (Psalm 37:4) So if you are going through something right now and you don't think that you'll ever be "happy", just try to remember that if you give it all up to God, and I mean ALL of it to Him, He'll bless you with things that you didn't even know you wanted! He will help you along your way too! His help is always with you! He says in Joshua that He will never leave you or forsake you! Live by that; Learn from it.
And I hope you all have that one person that you can love and count on like I do. Love you Ally!


Lord Bless You.

• "Maker of Heaven, Giver of Life. You are my strength, my song in the night. My refuge, my shelter, now and forevermore. My help comes from The Lord" ~ The Museum; My Help Comes From The Lord.

• "I lift my eyes unto the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, The Maker of Heaven and Earth." -Psalm 121:1,2

Lights

Did you ever notice how lights can be hidden? Have you ever seen how people can blow out lights so quickly? I have been thinking of this subject and I've come to the realization that this is just like a Christian's life. We have this incredible bright light shining for everyone to see and in one swoop someone comes and blows it out. And getting it back up again is like trying to light a match in the rain.

I think that getting your match started again can be hard. Picture this: You just get home from a youth group retreat. You are on a spiritual high! Everything in your life is going absolutely wonderfully. But when you get back into the swing of things, a co-worker or a class mate says something that totally lowers your self esteem. You're crushed. Who knows what they did, but it really really hurt you and you don't feel like going anywhere or doing anything. Then it's like suddenly someone blew out our light! They didn't add fuel to our fire, they threw water on it. You were in such a great mood, but someone says a simple thing like that.

I've been trying to think of ways to keep our light going. One way that I've thought of it this.. These people that you are temporarily here with on this earth share some interests with you. But when they do something like this, it really brings you down. Maybe sometime you could point this out to that person. Just say "hey, ya know that really brings my feelings down and it's kind of hurtful." or "I'd appreciate it if you would treat me better than that." I don't know.. Something like that! If you are good at letting things brush off your shoulders then by all means, let whatever people say just drift off of you!

Just make sure that a comment like said above doesn't get you down. I know it's hard, but God will get you through every little thing that you are going through. He says in Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

In all this, I'm trying to say that no matter what, keep your light shining strong and if someone tries to blow it out, don't let them! God will be with you on your journey. He'll never leave you, and that's a promise.